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Family Inheritance
"Family Inheritance" is a mini-story that is part of the EMPATH: The Luckiest Smurf story series. The Story It was around five years before Empath returned home for good from Psychelia when a man named Gargamel found himself in an argument with his mother. "I want you out of my house right this instant!" she shrieked. "But, Mummy, I'm still in the middle of my research of how to create the Philosopher's Stone," Gargamel protested. "I've had enough of your research," his mother said. "All these years, all that money spent on getting you the best education at the sorcerer's guild, even being an apprentice to your dear old godfather Lord Balthazar, and what have you got to show for it? You're just as worthless as your father, and your brother...well, it makes me only wish that I had just one of you to deal with." "So my brother Gourmelin wanted to go off and be a poet instead of a sorcerer like me," Gargamel said. "It's not like he would amount to much of anything himself." "Let's face it, you're just the spitting image of your father...a weak and worthless sorcerer who makes me feel ashamed that I ever gave myself to him just so I could have a son that would take care of me in my later years," his mother said. "You're going to spend the rest of your years toiling away on the Philosopher's Stone instead of making money from your potions like the other evil sorcerers. And you'll still be in the same place as your father...going absolutely nowhere in your life." Gargamel hated every word his mother said about him and his father. "You are an impossible woman to please, Mummy. I've done everything I can to live up to what you want of me, and it still isn't enough for you. Maybe it's time that I found myself someplace else to live so that I can have peace and quiet without your incessant ramblings." "Good luck finding that on what little money you have brought in from your work, Gargamel," his mother said. Then there was a knock on the door of his mother's house. Gargamel opened the door and saw that it was a messenger. "Excuse me, but is this the L'Feroce residence?" the messenger asked. "Of course it is, you numbskull," Gargamel snapped. "What is it you want?" "I have a message that is meant for Gargamel...the last will and testament of your father, I believe," the messenger said. "It was given to me by his request a few days before he died. There were some people who gave your father a proper burial, but this is what he has left for you, the only son that he has considered his closest relative." Gargamel took the scroll that contained the will and read it thoroughly. "I hereby bequeath unto my son Gargamel the property of my hovel located in the forest near the Cursed Country, and everything that is within it, including a very special book that he might find useful in his line of work," he read aloud. "Oh, what joyous news it is...I mean, how terrible it is for my dear father to have passed away like that. I only wish that I could have seen him one last time before he died." "I'm sure that your father misses you very dearly and wishes you well, Gargamel," the messenger said. "Anyway, my job is done...the property is yours to claim as soon as possible. Have a good day." After the messenger left, Gargamel turned to his mother. "At least I now have a place where I can continue my experiments in peace and quiet, Mummy. I'm going to take complete advantage of this and start moving out right away." "Well, don't forget to take your miserable fleabag Azrael with you when you go, Gargamel," his mother said. "It's the last thing of yours that I want hanging around my house." "I'd rather have Azrael around me in the place I'm going to live in instead of you hounding me all the time, Mummy," Gargamel said. "Just don't let the door hit you in the fanny on your way out when you finally leave my house, Gargamel," his mother said. ----- Soon Gargamel had packed up all his belongings in a cart and was now wheeling them down the roads that would lead him to his father's hovel. All the while, Gargamel was muttering to himself. "I can't believe that I had to put up with living under the same roof with an annoying nag of a mother. I swear that someday, that woman responsible for my birth is going to eat her own words when I become the most powerful sorcerer in the world with the completion of the Philosopher's Stone. There's got to be that one elusive ingredient that my father must have found in his research somewhere, that one thing that would make all my efforts and his come to fruition, and then nobody will ever take me for a fool." After a while of traveling, Gargamel finally found the hovel at the address that was given to him in the will. Azrael looked at the house and made a face that expressed his revulsion. "I know, I know...it isn't as glorious as our godfather Balthazar's castle, but at least it will be a nice quiet place to do my research, and I don't have to do much maintenance to keep the place up...other than patching up holes in the roof, that is," Gargamel said after he saw it for himself. He took a look inside and saw that it contained everything he would ever need to continue his research. There was a whole library of books sitting on a bookshelf, potions of various kinds, traps and snares for catching animals and other creatures. He felt like he was a child again, getting a glimpse of his father's laboratory, but now realizing that it was all his to do whatever he wanted with it. But then Gargamel wondered about something. "The will said that there was a special book around here somewhere that would help me in my time of need," he muttered to himself. "Could it be among all the books that are in my father's library or something? I've got to find out what this book is." After Gargamel spent much of the day looking through his father's library of books, though, he simply gave up. "Bah, this is ridiculous," he hissed. "That special book isn't anywhere in my father's library...so the question remains, where is this book even located?" He lit up a candle and opened the cellar door to go down and see for himself what could be in there. He soon came across a book that sat on a lectern flanked by two tall candles. "Yes...that could be the special book that my father had mentioned," Gargamel said to himself. He went over to where the book was sitting to touch the book, but as soon as he got close to it, a magical force pushed him away, causing him to fall to the ground. "Who dares to disturb my rest?" a commanding voice spoke from the book. Gargamel seemed surprised. "You...you can talk?" "Of course I can talk, you imbecile," the book said. "I am called the Great Book Of Spells, upon whose pages dwell the secrets no one tells. I have been here for hundreds of years, ever serving whoever lives in this house to give them whatever it is they want, as long as they follow my instructions. I can be summoned by a person speaking a rhyming chant on the final phase of the full moon, but I can only be used for a full day, after which I must go back to my rest until the next full moon." "A rhyming chant?" Gargamel said, wondering to himself. "You mean like...'Oh, Great Book Of Spells, upon whose pages dwell the secrets no one tells, awake for Gargamel'?" "That's exactly what I mean, you doofus," the book said. "Unfortunately, it is not yet the final phase of the full moon, so I must continue to rest until that time. Come back to me when that time of the month comes." Gargamel looked at the book, seemingly upset. "At the very least, I now know what that special book is that my father mentioned. And should I ever need its help in anything, I know where to go in order to get that help." ----- As Gargamel continued to unpack his things, Azrael directed his attention to something he saw in the sky. "Eh, what is it? What's going on?" he asked out of curiosity. He looked up and saw a flock of cranes passing overhead. They seem to be headed straight into the forest, and Gargamel thought he was imagining that he saw tiny people riding on the cranes. But after a minute, the cranes were gone. "That's what you called my attention for, just to see a flock of cranes pass by, Azrael?" Gargamel said, sounding a bit irritated. "We've got more important things to do than look at the sky and watch birds, so let's get ourselves focused here, okay?" Azrael meowed what sounded like a "yeah, yeah" before he turned his attention away from watching the sky. By nightfall, after Gargamel had everything in his cart moved into the hovel, he laid back on his father's bed and just stared up at the ceiling, heaving a huge sigh of relief. His cat Azrael laid himself down on a cushion near the fireplace and settled himself to sleep. "I know this may sound silly, Azrael, but I just have a feeling like this place may be a great new start for me and my career as a sorcerer," Gargamel said as he continued to look up at the ceiling. "It may not be in the best location, but now I don't have to worry about anyone but myself anymore. Oh, I can't wait to find out what it is my father may have found in his research about the Philosopher's Stone in the years he had spent apart from us, but if that information is worth its weight in gold, I just have to exploit it. When I finally create that legendary stone, even my own godfather will be in such awe of me that he will have to consider me an equal. What a day that will be...what a day that will be." With that thought on his mind, Gargamel closed his eyes and went to sleep. Category:Empath the Luckiest Smurf stories Category:Mini-stories Category:VicGeorge2K9's articles Category:Death stories Category:Gargamel's past stories Category:Stories focusing on Gargamel